I must have had Zyllees’ luck. No, even worse than that. At least the sky god chose to be in the situation that led to his stabbing and loss of blood. Somehow, I ended up with a knife to my neck by a blindfolded guy who was being pursued by two officers of the Therta clan. This must be how a chicken feels before their head is lobbed off. Ironically, though, my butcher wouldn’t be the blindfolded guy. His knife felt a bit dull, so it would be difficult to pierce my tough skin. Tougher if I choose to tense the area.
No, what made me the most afraid was the Therta clan officers right in front of me. A few times while collecting trash in the heart of Yoma, I had seen them from a distance, and that was enough to count years off my life. They were from one of the thirteen families that governed Xerra and rumors placed them as the unofficial assassins of Xerra; making the blindfolded guy also a chicken in this scenario. Up close, I could see the blood of all the unfortunate victims stained their eyes and uniforms. My blood would soon join the innocents mixed in, as they’re known not to care about collateral damage.
Even after the blindfolded guy took me hostage, their expressions remained bloodthirsty. It is said that a Therta clan officer is given a pure white uniform, after completing a secret exam. The two uniforms in front of me, however, were unsettlingly different from how they supposedly started. Instead of it being pure white, there were splatters of red uniquely matching the reds of their eyes. The man and woman were both wearing a long-sleeve, button-down with the Therta clan crest—three scratch marks over a shield—stitched to the left shoulder. The man tucked the shirt into his trousers—held firmly by a leather belt, while the woman had a full-length skirt with large folds at the hem.
“It’s foolish to take a hostage from the low class. No one will care if he dies,” the woman said unremorsefully.
“I’d care!” I thought to myself, but my mouth didn’t dare convey. She had a short-tempered look, and I didn’t want to test my observational theory. Plus, although hurtful, it was unfortunately true.
I didn’t normally take the rumors that I heard during my job as a city caretaker seriously. However, based on what I was seeing, they weren’t seeming to be embellished. Besides their uniforms, they also looked like the definition of people not to mess with.
“Just let me go!” The blindfolded guy pleaded, marking both our graves. “There doesn’t have to be any unnecessary bloodshed.”
“Be quiet, half-blood! You’re lucky we were told to bring you back alive. But they didn’t mention anything about not bringing you in disfigured. Come with us now and possibly I will only break your arms.”
This woman was frightening. I didn’t normally take the rumors that I heard during my job as a city caretaker seriously. However, based on what I was seeing, they weren’t seeming to be embellished. Everything about them screamed the definition of people not to mess with.
The woman’s hair was held tightly in a bun. Not a single strand was hanging over her forehead. Like a —--
The man next to her wasn’t saying much but still looked deranged. Saliva was starting to fall from the corners of his lips as he looked at us both. I hope he wasn’t thinking about the taste of our blood or something. I couldn’t help but notice that man had basically no white spots left on his uniform. This situation was looking pretty hopeless.
“Hey, am I really needed here?” I tried to negotiate. “You’d feel bad if you used me as a human shield, right? I’m sorry for whatever predicament you are in, but can you please not drag me into it? I have plans for the future that can only be achieved if I’m alive.”
The blindfolded guy didn’t respond, but he also didn’t press the knife any further into my neck. I could almost feel his thoughts from the uneven sway of his breathing.
“The peasant is right. You said there doesn’t need to be any unnecessary bloodshed. I’ll give you five seconds before I skewer your hostage.”
Huh? Did she just call me a peasant? This woman was starting to get on my nerves. At first, I was cursing my own luck, but now it was becoming personal. I don’t want to be killed by her.
“Five…”
The woman approached with her sword drawn back. A devilish glare stared at my heart. The pressure of which I could feel at my toes.
“Hey, let go of me!” I tried to shake my wrist free from the strong grasp of the blindfolded guy. This was not how I envisioned my death.
“Four…”
No one will grieve me. If only I had more time.
“Wait, hold on!” A familiar voice said that only furthered my despair.
Dert hopped up from the ground, having fallen from the initial shock. I thought he had realized that it was best for him to stay in that position, but he was now approaching the Therta officers for some reason. I could feel my eyes pop out of my head.
“Dert, what are you doing?!” I said.
“Just give me a second” He replied to me, placing his arm on the shoulder of the woman. He displayed no fear, despite probably knowing more about them than I do. “I am sure we can figure out a better way to solve this issue—”
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As Dert tried to reason with them, my eyes barely spotted the Therta man shift a foot towards him. Before I could even think about warning Dert, the man’s sword held at his waist was swung cleanly through Dert’s arm and arched fluidly back to his waist. The hand on the woman’s shoulder went limp and dropped to the floor, along with the other half of his arm. Dert was motionless at first until he realized what had happened and slumped to the floor crying out in agony. The man sadistically grinned as he watched Dert wither and roll around clutching what remained of his appendage.
Without batting an eye, the Therta woman continued, “Where was I? Oh, right. I was at three… Two… O—”
I closed my eyes and tensed my chest in a last-ditch effort to survive. Not that I was optimistic about it actually working. The skills of the Therta were largely kept secret, but anyone who had seen or heard their work could say that their opponent stood no chance. I was dying thanks to this strange blindfolded guy, so he better somehow get away. Maybe he would try to flee from Xerra, end up at Aqueden or some other new land, and fulfill my dream. Accepting death with that pretense, I waited to no longer feel the beating of my heart.
Shlink!
A strong gust of wind pushed me off balance. The knife’s pressure on my neck had vanished, and my heart continued beating. I slowly opened my eyes to see the Therta woman irritated. She looked like a spoiled child that was just told no for the first time. Her sword was stretched forward, aimed at my heart. Both of her hands were gripping the sword handle, struggling to pierce forward.
Was my skin actually tough enough to stand against a Therta officer’s sword? I looked down at my chest in bewilderment, and what I saw was more unbelievable than what I had originally thought. My chest wasn’t being shielded by my skin, but by the blindfolded guy’s knife. He had positioned it straight in front of the Therta women’s strike, so now the point of her sword was sticking into the blade of the knife. Surprisingly, it hadn’t shattered on impact. The knife looked like a sharpened stone attached to a stick. I probably wasn’t even far off by that assumption.
“You’re too ignorant to be Therta,” the woman flared, “Why save a peasant?” She stopped her futile attempts at piercing through both his knife and my chest, bringing her sword back to a defensive position.
“At least I’m not a goon sent to clean up some old man’s dirty work!”
The blindfolded guy dropped my wrist. An action that I didn’t let him second guess as I immediately jumped aside.
“You dare insult Master Kliv!” She bellowed, jabbing her sword at the blindfolded guy with godly speed. My eyes could barely register it, yet somehow he was dodging every attack. His movements seemed almost rehearsed as he shifted weight and twisted his body at precisely the right time with each swing and swipe that the woman threw at him. He didn’t even attempt to block or parry with his knife.
“What?... How?... You’re only a half-blood! How are you enhanced?” the woman snarled.
I was frozen in awe as I watched the Therta woman get progressively more furious. A few hairs now bouncing free over her unwrinkled, grey forehead. The woman pursued him as he rolled onto the street. Her attacks were becoming stiffer and slower the longer she attacked. She was getting tired, but so was the blindfolded guy. He was trying to get as much room between them as possible after every dodge. Whoever could outlast the other would win this exchange.
But then I heard a deep growl and scratching of one's foot kicking up dirt. The Therta man—who I had forgotten was here and could easily tip the scales of this fight—was setting up a charge straight at the blindfolded guy. Hunched over and saliva dripping to the floor. His sword held firmly across his body. There was no way that the blindfolded guy would know it is coming. Should I warn him? But then I would be helping him and he is being pursued by Therta officers.
The man teleported. Or, at least that is what it looked like to me. At one moment, he was a few feet in front of me, and the next, he had his sword raised above the blindfolded guy on the street. Only the stride-length dust clouds proved he had actually ran there. It had to be over for the blindfolded guy. Even if he knew the Therta officer man was behind him, the woman was pressing him from the front.
Everything seemed to slow down at that moment. He was ducking under the woman’s swing to prevent his torso from leaving his upper half without permission. While the Therta man, with a savage glint in his eyes and disheveled black hair, swung his sword in parallel to his spine. I thought they were supposed to capture him alive, but if that lands, he was surely dead.
For some reason, I had been hoping for him to escape. He was most likely blind, and yet, displaying more skill and strength than a Therta officer. Even to the extent of saving my life with the blade of his janky knife. Albeit, he was the one that put me in danger in the first place. It’s just, I wanted someone like him to join me when I faced the Serpent.
Too bad things had to end this way. The blindfolded guy was trying to roll away, seemingly aware of the man behind him, but it was too late. He was going to get struck somewhere on his body. It would be a miracle if he survives. I reveled in dismay as the sword approached his side.
But it never made contact.
Out of the shadows of the setting sun, a grey-skinned woman with black hair and a pure white uniform teleported beside the blindfolded guy. The man’s guaranteed slice was deflected by her sword and struck the ground instead. Not expecting to miss, the man lost balance and the new woman capitalized on it, swinging the hilt of her sword to his chin. The impact of which tossed the man into the air like a ribbon twisting through the wind.
Gracefully, she turned towards the Therta woman, not looking as the man landed on the back of his head with a dignified crack. In any other situation, this should not have been possible. The woman had dropped a man who was a head taller than her. This woman, however, also had the Therta clan crest on her left shoulder. She looked at the other Therta woman, who was glaring back at her with a complicated expression.
“Sister?” the scary Therta woman breathed in a stark undertone. “Why have you interfered? Are you helping this half-blood? Why?”
“Unfortunately, you wouldn’t understand why,” the sister replied.
A euphonious whistle of a small object burst through the air. The Therta woman winced when the sound faded. A small dart with a white feather had flown into her neck.
“What are you dooooiiinng?” her voice trailed off and her knees gave out. The sword clattered out from her hand once she fully collapsed. For a few moments, she kept her eyes open, but eventually closed with little struggle.
“Sorry, Sis, take a nap for me please,” the sister said with a cold expression.